The United States Coast Guard, backed by U.S. Navy forces and a Maritime Special Reaction Team, reportedly boarded and seized a second oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela this weekend, a blunt display of American resolve in the Caribbean. Officials identified the vessel as the Panama-flagged Centuries and said the operation forms part of a concerted effort to stop shadow fleets from siphoning Venezuelan crude to illicit buyers.
This interception follows the December 10 seizure of the tanker Skipper and comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s announcement of a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan tankers — a necessary escalation to choke off revenue streams for Maduro and his criminal partners. U.S. officials described the latest operation as a consented boarding, with the ship stopping and allowing U.S. forces to board and secure the vessel.
Finally, someone in Washington is showing the backbone Americans expect from their leaders, and it’s about time. For too long, weak-kneed foreign policies and soft sanctions allowed tyrants and thugs to game the system while ordinary citizens paid the price through higher crime and insecurity at home.
The administration’s message is clear: the shadow fleet that moves Venezuelan and Iranian crude is a national security problem because the proceeds fund the IRGC and narco-terror networks, and those funds must be cut off. U.S. officials say the oil will be processed through legal forfeiture proceedings while investigators gather evidence from aboard the seized ship.
Predictably, Nicolás Maduro screamed “piracy” and tried to play the victim, while regional leaders called for calm and international institutions fretted about escalation. Let them howl — the real story is that Maduro’s regime has been trafficking in its people’s future for corrupt profit, and the world has every right to stop vessels that enable that theft.
This is not reckless adventurism; it is targeted pressure designed to squeeze the lifeblood out of a criminal kleptocracy and protect American security interests. Patriots should applaud a policy that puts American safety and the rule of law ahead of the hollow sympathy that helped create these tyrannies in the first place.
Yes, we must be honest about the economic ripple effects — a blockade and seizures will make waves in global oil markets and strain neighbors in the region — but doing nothing is far costlier. If cutting off illicit cash flows for terrorists and drug cartels means a temporary market shuffle, that is a tradeoff worth making to secure the homeland and deter aggression.
Now is the time for Americans to stand behind decisive action that defends our interests, backs our allies who seek freedom, and denies funding to our enemies. Support for principled strength is not warmongering — it is patriotism, and it is how free nations protect their people.
